The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure announced the near completion of several megaprojects, including the Ankara-Sivas High-Speed ​​​​Train Line, the new Zigana Tunnel, the Başakşehir-Kayaşehir metro line and the AKM Gar-Kızılay metro line, which are all set to ease transportation woes in the country.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu stated that on the one hand, they continue to heal the wounds of the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş, and on the other hand, work on megaprojects continues throughout the country.

Ankara-Sivas High-Speed ​​​​Train

With the addition of the Ankara-Sivas high-speed ​​​​train line, which can travel at 250 kph (155 mph), the route between Ankara and Sivas will decrease from 603 kilometers to 405 kilometers and the travel time will drop down to two hours. The distance between Ankara and Yozgat to one hour.

Within the scope of the project, a total of eight stations, namely Elmadağ, Kırıkkale, Yerköy, Yozgat, Sorgun, Akdağmadeni, Yıldızeli and Sivas, and approximately 1.4 million living in Kırıkkale, Yozgat and Sivas provinces will have the opportunity to travel by high-speed train.

Some 49 tunnels with a total length of 66 kilometers, 49 viaducts stretching 27.2 kilometers, the longest tunnel of the project located in the Akdağmadeni region with 5,125 meters and a railway viaduct in Çerikli-Kırıkkale with 2,220 meters with the highest pillars of 88.6 meters in Ankara-Elmadağ have been completed. Domestic rail was also used for the first time during this project.

Başakşehir-Kayaşehir line

Emphasizing that work continues on the Başakşehir-Pine and Sakura City Hospital-Kayaşehir metro line, Karaismailoğlu stated that there are a total of four stations, namely Onurkent, Çam and Sakura City Hospital, Kayaşehir, and Başakşehir Metrokent, on the 6.2-kilometer long line, adding: "Trains designed to travel 80 kilometers per hour can serve 70,000 passengers per hour in one direction. By completing our Başakşehir-Kayaşehir metro line, we will connect it with Çam and Sakura City Hospital, which is one of the most advanced and modern hospitals in the world."

In addition, the hospital will also be accessible via other public transportation modes. This project also allows the region to reach the airport by metro. Travel time between Metrokent and Özgürlük Square (Bakırköy) is 29 minutes, between Metrokent and Istanbul Airport is 24 minutes, and 23 minutes between Çam and Sakura City Hospital-Bakırköy (Kirazlı).

Zigana Tunnel

Karaismailoğlu stated that with the opening of the New Zigana Tunnel on the Silk Road route, which is among the vision projects, transportation would become better in quality, faster and safer.

Explaining that the tunnel was built on this route, which connects Trabzon, the most important center of the eastern Black Sea region, to Bayburt, Aşkale and Erzurum via Gümüşhane and carries a high traffic load, Karaismailoğlu said, "The Zigana Tunnel Project extends 14.5 kilometers with a total length reaching 15.1 kilometers with the connection roads. The ventilation systems of the tunnel were built with the vertical shaft structures constructed for the first time in Türkiye in the highway tunnels. This tunnel is also the longest in our country and Europe and the third longest in the world as a long double-tube tunnel."

Stating that the 90 bends on the existing route were eliminated and the road was shortened by 8 kilometers, Karaismailoğlu said: "The travel time was shortened by an average of 20 minutes, 10 minutes for cars and 60 minutes for heavy tonnage vehicles. The uninterrupted and comfortable traffic flow in winter conditions is also ensured."

Underlining that 100% of domestic and national resources are being used in the construction, design and control of the tunnel, and its connection roads, Karaismailoğlu emphasized that Turkish engineers and workers built the project.

AKM-Gar-Kızılay Metro

Explaining that rail system investments continue not only in Istanbul but throughout the country, Karaismailoğlu said that direct metro transportation from Keçiören to Kızılay will be provided with the AKM-Gar-Kızılay metro line, which consists of three stations in the capital Ankara.

Karaismailoğlu stated that the line has a capacity of 600,000 passengers per day; in addition to the existing 108 train cars, 324 new generation metro cars were purchased by the ministry.

Pointing out that they have quadrupled the number of metro trains working on the lines, Karaismailoğlu said, "We have increased the capacity by revising the metro vehicles storage and maintenance center with an anticipate savings of 9 million euros ($9.78 million)."